


Begin Again

by Sourwolf and Stilinski (Kitsune_Moonstar)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hale Family Feels, M/M, Magic, Past Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Sheriff Stilinski is a Good Parent, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-04-27 18:44:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5059855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsune_Moonstar/pseuds/Sourwolf%20and%20Stilinski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>None of them really know what to do with a suddenly teen aged Derek who has no memories, but Stiles does his best.  And Derek has to wonder if getting his memories back is a good thing.  It's a weird situation all around, and both of them are trying to muddle through it without getting themselves hurt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf or its characters. This is AU after they rescue Deaged!Derek from Mexico.

Stiles didn't know what to do with a sixteen year old Derek Hale. To be fair, he didn't really think anyone else did either. None of them had expected to find a deaged Derek when they launched their rescue mission. That one little hitch in the plan changed a lot of things. It doesn't help that Derek has no clue who any of them all. Thank god he was at least listening to Scott though.

By the time they get back to Beacon Hills, there were no new answers. Stiles had learned quite a few things about teenage Derek though. He's cocky and self-confident but has a sweet side too. He tries to hide that. Just like he tries to hide how sacred he is. During the drive back, no one mentioned his family. Especially after they realize that Derek still thinks they're alive. No one really wanted to be the one to tell him the truth.

Unfortunately, Deaton's a dead end. He doesn't know anything that could have caused this or how to reverse it. And that meant that the pack had to figure out what to do with Derek. Stiles wasn't sure how much longer Derek was going to cooperate with them either. The last thing they needed right now was him running off on his own. And that meant that they were going to have to figure out a cover for Derek. Which lead to a whispered conference at the vet's.

"We have to tell him," Stiles insisted.

"Are you sure?" Scott asked. "I mean, it might be better not to. It's a lot of shit to dump on a teenager, and I don't think we have time to deal with the emotional fallout."

"He's not going to trust us if we're not honest with him. And Kate's still out there. He trusts her at this point, remember? The last thing we need is for him to run off with her because he thinks she's his girlfriend."

"But-"

"Scott, when has lying to people or leaving them out of the loop ever worked well for us? Even when our plans worked, in the long run, it only caused trouble."

Scott sighed. "You're right. It's just-"

"I know."

And Stiles did. Telling Derek that almost all of his family was dead was not something that anyone really wanted to do, but it needed to be done before Derek found out some other way. Stiles took a deep breath.

"I'll do it. Tell him I mean."

"You're sure?" Scott asked. "I'm the Alpha after all."

Stiles just shook his head. "I've got it."

He had some experience about the wrong way to tell people that they had lost someone they loved. Spending as much time in the hospital with his mom had been an education in that. After a little while, Stiles had been able to tell how much practice a doctor had had in giving loved ones bad news. So he headed back into Deaton's office where Derek was waiting.

"Okay, here's the plan. We're going to go back to my place, Derek, and I'll do my best to explain what happened."

Derek scowled at him. "I'd really rather just go home. You can get my mom to deal with the rest of this. She's the Alpha."

Stiles just sighed. "Look, please trust me. I promise I won't lie to you, but I really need you to come with me."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if I get in trouble with my mom, I'm blaming you."

Stiles' chest tightened just hearing that. The drive to his house was mostly silent. Stiles led the way inside, heading for the kitchen. This was the sort of conversation that called for hot chocolate.

"Have a seat. This won't take long," Stiles told him as he got out the stuff for hot cocoa.

It was rather odd to watch the teenage Derek sitting at his kitchen table. Stiles could see shades of the man that he knew, but there was a carelessness and a confidence to the younger version that the older Derek had lost. He carefully poured two mugs of the cocoa and sat down across from Derek.

"All right. There is no easy way to do this. I'm sorry, Derek, but your mother and the rest of the Hale pack are dead. A rogue hunter was responsible. There was a fire, and the only survivors were yourself and Laura. Peter made it out, but the injuries caused by the fire put him in a coma." Stiles kept going, wanting to get everything out there before the news really hit. "Laura was killed by Peter last year. In the end, you managed to kill him and became Alpha."

He knew the second his words really sunk in. Derek completely crumpled, folding in on himself in grief. Stiles hesitated a moment before leaving his seat and going over to the other teen. To his utter surprise, Derek accepted Stiles' arm wrapped around his shoulder, even leaning into the embrace. Stiles couldn't tell if Derek was crying or not, but it took a good five minutes before Derek was able to look him in the eye.

"I want to know everything." It was almost a growl.

"That's a long story. A lot has happened, and not much of it has been good for you. You're not going to like it."

"I need to know."

That made Stiles sigh. "Okay. But if you need me to stop, tell me. You can help me make dinner while I talk. My dad should be home in an hour or so. He's in the know, so we don't have to worry about making up a story for him. Scott's mom knows as well, but his dad doesn't, and we're trying to keep it that way."  
He set Derek to work making a salad while Stiles started on grating cheese. Mac and cheese was easy enough to make, and it was comforting. They were both probably going to need that by the end of the night. Stiles started with Kate and went from there. He tried not to leave anything out. At this point, he figured that the truth was the best thing. The more that Derek knew, the less that could be used against him. He did try to be fair about it though. Stiles knew that some of his and Scott's assumptions about Derek early on had been off base and untrue, so he left that out. And things like Kate killing his family had not been Derek's fault. He didn't know if he could convince Derek of that, but he was going to try.

They had just gotten to the arrival of the Alpha Pack when the sheriff arrived home. He took one look at the scene in the kitchen before turning to his son.

"Stiles, do you want to tell me what's going on here?"

"We found Derek," Stiles offered.

"I can see that." His dad sighed. "I don't remember him being quite so young the last time I saw him."

"We're working on that. He doesn't really remember anything from the past six years or so."

John just sighed again. "How is this my life? All right, Derek, you're staying here until we get this sorted out. Stiles will help you figure out a cover story. I realize you're a werewolf, but I expect you to follow the same rules as Stiles: be home by eleven and tell me about any supernatural shenanigans going on."

Derek kind of blinked at his dad as if he wasn't sure what was going on. "Okay."

"Has Stiles filled you in on the current state of things yet?"

"We just got to the Alpha Pack."

"All right then. What's for dinner?"

Dinner was interesting. Stiles was a little surprised by how normal it actually way. His dad and Derek seemed perfectly happy to discuss baseball together, leaving Stiles to wonder what it had been like around the Hale family dinner table. Derek seemed to be dealing with all of the information Stiles had dumped on him so far, but Stiles was worried about when it really hit him. He knew how the Derek he was used would react to bad news, but that Derek had already faced more loss than you could shake a stick at. This Derek was relatively untouched by loss, and he'd had a lot thrust on him all at once.

The three of them ended up in front of the TV watching a game. Derek was quiet, but Stiles didn't know the younger version well enough to know if that was normal. The one thing that Stiles couldn't help but noticing was the fact that Derek almost seemed glued to Stiles' side. It wasn't obvious, but it was noticeable. Even with plenty of free seats around the room, Derek chose the one right next to Stiles. He'd also put himself in between Stiles and the door as well.

Once the game ended, his dad headed up to bed leaving Stiles alone with Derek once more.

"Do you want me to tell you the rest of it?" he asked.

Derek nodded, looking grim. "Yes."

He went over the Alpha pack and moved on to the whole thing with the nogitsune.

"…and that's when we realized you were missing. We started looking for you and ended up in Mexico. That's when you joined us."

Derek blinked at him. "Okay."

Stiles gave him a long look. "Are you okay? I mean, I just dropped a lot on you."

Derek shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing. It sounds like you haven even had a chance to recover from being possessed before being tossed into more danger. Human members of the pack are important. Someone should be taking care of you to make sure you're okay."

That sort of threw Stiles. It made sense in the context of Derek's previous pack. But it wasn't something that Derek had really followed as far as he knew since he'd come back to Beacon Hills. Well, Stiles hadn't really been pack at first, and according to his dad, Derek had been at the forefront of keeping Stiles alive during the nogitsune drama. Stiles just shrugged.

"I think we were all sort of in shock at that point."

Derek's frown deepened. "That's still not an excuse. Your Alpha should take better care of you."

Stiles was oddly touched by that. He also figured it was time to change the subject.

"So, we need to figure out what to tell people about that. Unfortunately for us, Scott's dad keeps sticking his noise into things, so we should probably have a story ready."

Derek made a face. "Can't we just say I'm a random Hale cousin? I have plenty of those even if we're not close. Actually, we can say I'm an O'Brian. Dad's family pretty much cut off all contact after he changed his name when he married Mom."

That was something Stiles work with. "All right, you're Derek O'Brian then. You got curious and decided to come down and see if you could find your relatives. Where are you from?"

"Portland, Oregon." Derek gave him a long look. "Do you really think that anyone is going to care that much?"

Stiles just sighed. "With our luck yes."

* * *

 

Derek wasn't too sure what to make of anything. The only reason he had stuck around so far was he did feel a pull to Stiles a little. It wasn't exactly strong enough to really call Stiles pack, but Derek could tell that the potential was there. It was like when his cousin Gwen brought her fiancé to visit. Sean was from a different pack, and while he didn't feel exactly like pack, he felt like he could be pack.

And it did help that Derek recognized Sheriff Stilinski, even if he had been Deputy Stilinski the last Derek had seen him. To be honest, Derek was pretty sure he was in shock. He had understood what Stiles had told him about his family being dead and everything else that had happened, but it didn't feel real. Not really. Derek couldn't imagine life without his family. Of course, he also couldn't imagine being the alpha either. That was always Laura. Maybe Cora, but not Derek.

But Stiles hadn't lied to him once about what had happened, and Derek was going to have to trust that Stiles' pack could figure things out. Curling into the comforter that smelled mostly of laundry detergent, Derek listened the sounds of the house, trying to get to sleep. He could hear the sheriff's steady heartbeat and breathing as he slept and the sound of Stiles fingers flying over a keyboard. Stiles' heartbeat was not exactly settled, but it did definitely have a pattern, and eventually Derek drifted off listening to it.

He woke to find the sheriff leaning over him. "Stiles is working on breakfast. Come on down once you're dressed."

It was a bit strange to be dressed in Stiles' clothes and surrounded by his scent, but Derek found it oddly comforting as well. Downstairs he found Stiles bent over the stove, frying bacon. The sheriff was seated at the kitchen table, reading the paper, and Derek was hit by a surge of homesickness. He wants his dad to be at the stove laughing and teasing his mom while she reads the paper. He wants to watch Laura and Peter fight over who got the sports section first and help Cora steal Peter's bacon. He wants to listen to Peter and his wife be mushy and make faces at them with Peter's daughters. He wants to see his dad scold Uncle Adam for trying to steal bacon from the pan and see Uncle Evan laugh at his husband then kiss him when he pouted. He wanted to go home.

"Derek? There's milk or O.J. in the fridge. Help yourself." Stiles voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Breakfast should be done shortly. I hope you don't mind omelets."

Derek shook his head. "That's fine."

He helped himself to orange juice and sat down at the kitchen table, not sure what else to do or say. Within minutes Stiles had set a plate with an omelet down in front of him, and Derek could use the excuse of eating to avoid making conversation. The food was quite good; Stiles clearly knew what he was doing in the kitchen. He also chattered enough to fill the silence left by Derek, rambling on about research ideas and online sources. Derek could only follow about half of what the other teen was saying, but it sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

When the three of them had finished their meal, the sheriff let out a sigh.

"I have to go into work. You boys stay out of trouble please. We have enough going on that we don't need to add anything else to it."

Stiles nodded. "Will do, Daddy-o. We're probably just going to hang out here. Might go see if Deaton can tell us anything."

The sheriff nodded. "All right. I should be home for dinner barring any disasters."

Once he left, Derek found himself alone with Stiles. The other teen had already started with the clean-up from breakfast.

"Just let me get things cleaned up, and then I'll give Deaton a call and see what he has to say."

Derek started gathering up the plates. "Who's Deaton?"

Stiles blinked at him. "Right. I forgot you don't know. Deaton's an Emissary. From time to time, he's actually helpful."

Derek was still confused. The name was vaguely familiar. "Isn't he the vet?"

"Talk about irony, right?" Stiles grinned. "Anyway, he's probably our best bet about getting things sorted out quickly. If he doesn't know what's going on, I'm hoping that he can at least point me in the right direction with the research."

Not knowing what else to do, Derek helped Stiles wash the dishes. Once that was done, Stiles grabbed a backpack.

"Let's go."

Stiles' jeep at least was vaguely familiar. Well, Derek had ridden in it several times in the past few days, and that was as close to familiarity as he was getting right now. For once, it seemed like Stiles didn't have anything to say, so the only noise during the drive came from the radio. Derek didn't recognize any of the songs, and that more than anything else drove home that he wasn't in the Beacon Hills he remembered.

Derek hadn't been sure what to expect from Deaton. But he could definitely see Stiles didn't always find the man helpful. He'd been cryptic and vague the entire hour Derek had sat there while Stiles explained the situation and Deaton examined him. Not that any of that seemed to give the man any idea what had happened, and he and Stiles returned to the Stilinski house without any answers.

Stiles led the way up to his room. "I'm going to see what I can find. No offense to Deaton, but half the time he's completely useless."

"What can I do?" Derek asked.

Stiles waved in the direction of his bed and a bookcase as he sat down at his computer. "Feel free to help yourself. I'm going to be busy for a while, but maybe we can go out for lunch, and I can show you around town. You probably should know where most things are now."

Derek sighed and went to peruse the bookshelf. He grabbed the first title that caught his eye and settled on the bed to read.

* * *

 

Stiles was trying really hard not to be distracted by Derek curled up reading on his bed. It might be a losing battle. Not that it really mattered. He wasn't finding anything so far that could explain what had happened to Derek or how to reverse it which worried Stiles more than a little. Explaining young Derek to Beacon Hills at large was not going to be easy if this lasted more than a few weeks. The cover story about Derek being a cousin of the Hales worked for short term, but if he was going to be here longer than that they had school to worry about as well as a better story to explain why Derek had moved here and was living with the Stilinskis. Stiles wasn't about to let Peter get his hands on Derek, let alone live with him. Derek was vulnerable right now, and Stiles didn't trust Peter as far as he could throw him.

He missed the older Derek a surprising amount, even if he did like this one too. For all that the Derek that Stiles was used to didn't always make the best life decisions, but he was familiar at this point, and Stiles missed arguing with him. Plus, the older Derek had some life experiences that made Stiles worry about him a little less. He wouldn't have to worry about the older Derek running off with Kate Argent should she show up, and it seemed like he'd finally gotten past the point of trusting Peter.

But at the same time, it was fun to see the younger Derek. He didn't have the walls around him that the older one did, and he was far more willing to engage with Stiles. He might try to hide some of his vulnerability with bravado, but he was someone that Stiles would want to be friends with. There was something about him that made Stiles feel even more protective of him than he normally was. For all that Derek and Stiles hadn't always gotten along, Stiles had a great deal of sympathy for him, and he felt that people seemed to try to take advantage of Derek more than anyone else in the pack.

What Stiles couldn't figure out was why Kate would want to turn Derek into a teenager again. He really couldn't see the benefit in that for her. He couldn't think of any way that Derek could be of use to her right now. The rest of the Hale family was gone, and unless there was some sort of ritual that required a teenage born werewolf, it didn't make much sense. Then again, this was an Argent they were talking about. Most of them were crazy in Stiles opinion. This might just be some sort of insane revenge scheme on Kate's part for all he knew. The biggest problem was really that they hadn't faced Kate as an enemy, and Stiles had no sense of what to expect from her.

Sighing, Stiles tried to get back to work. He had a boatload of Mexican and Aztec mythology to sort through. At least, that's where he was going to start since they'd found Derek in Mexico. Hopefully, he'd be able to find something in there to at least give them an idea of what they were working with. The good news was that Derek was being fairly cooperative and didn't seem to mind hanging around. Stiles had actually expected a teenage Derek to be more difficult that the regular one.

The sound of his stomach interrupted his thoughts and Stiles sighed again.

"You hungry?" he asked Derek.

The other teen shrugged. "I could eat."

Stretching, Stiles climbed out of his computer chair. "I'm not sure what we've got, but there's probably something in the cupboards.'

Unfortunately, Stiles really did need to do some grocery shopping. There wasn't much left at this point besides some leftover salad and crackers. He made a face.

"Looks like we're going grocery shopping. Do you think that you can handle dealing with Beacon Hills?"

Derek just shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Which was how Stiles found himself going up and down the aisles of the local Safeway with a teenage Derek Hale. It was more than slightly surreal. But at least Derek seemed to know what he was doing.

"I used to help Dad with most of the cooking," Derek explained. "It was our thing to do without my sisters."

So the two of them set to work restocking the Stilinski kitchen. Stiles was aware that the two of them were getting some odd looks, but it wasn't until they ran into Agent McCall that Stiles realized what a bad idea this was. Unfortunately, the man was heading right for the two of them, and he didn't think that avoiding him would be an option.

Derek was just putting a bunch of carrots in their cart when Agent McCall sauntered over to them.

"I haven't seen you around as much as I expected, Stiles. If I remember correctly, you and Scott used to live in one another's pockets."

Stiles schooled his face into a calm expression. "You haven't exactly been around lately. Kids grow up you know."

McCall's eyes flicked over Derek. "And who's this?"

Stiles fought to keep from rolling his eyes. "This is Derek, and we've need to finish grocery shopping before the ice cream melts."

McCall ignored that. "Derek, huh? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"I'm visiting from Portland." Derek shrugged before turning to Stiles, seemingly dismissing McCall. "Do you and your dad like Japanese food? I know a pretty good recipe for grilled chicken we could try for dinner."

"You don't have to cook," Stiles protested automatically. "You're a guest."

"I don't mind. Besides, I like cooking."

McCall was still watching the two of them with narrowed eyes, but at least he wasn't actively engaging them anymore. Stiles decided it was time to make their escape and pulled Derek over two aisles.

"Can you tell if he's still lurking around?" he asked Derek.

Derek frowned. "I don't think so. Who was that anyway?"

"Scott's dad. He's a douchebag, and he keeps sticking his nose in our business. He doesn't know about the whole creatures of the night thing. We'd like to keep it that way."

Derek snorted at that. "Can't blame you. It felt like he was trying to grill you more about me than your dad did."

Stiles just sighed. "I don't exactly know what his game is. I just want him to go away so our lives can get back to normal. Or at least what passes for normal around here."

The trip back home was sort of awkward. Stiles wasn't sure how to act around this Derek, and he knew that Derek was probably in the same boat. Of course, Derek didn't even really know him. At least Stiles had some idea of who Derek was and what he was like. Except this Derek wasn't the one he knew, and Stiles wasn't sure if he should treat him like he was or not. The two of them seemed to do best when they had something to distract them from the whole situation.

It certainly didn't help that the younger version of Derek was still very attractive with the bonus of being a little more approachable than Derek was. Older Derek might be hot like burning, but younger Derek was cute, and that didn't help at all with Stiles' crush on the man. Especially since younger Derek was far more tactile. Every time Stiles turned around Derek was brushing against him or touching his shoulder. It made it a little harder for Stiles to keep his distance when it came to Derek. And he was trying to keep some distance because even if this was Derek, it wasn't the Derek they knew and who knew how long he'd be around for.

* * *

 

Derek was feeling more than a little conflicted at the moment. Because while Stiles wasn't really pack, he certainly felt like it to Derek, and his reactions to the other teen were throwing him off more than a little. He wanted to wrap himself around Stiles and take care of him more often than not. Stiles might say that he was fine, but there were times when Derek could smell the despair coming off of him. He had nightmares on a regular basis too, and Derek often found himself just wanting to crawl into bed with Stiles and comfort him.

It didn't help that Stiles was most definitely his type as well. Smart with some sass, slender and brunette, he reminded Derek a little of Paige, but it wasn't just that. Stiles had his own merits in spades from what Derek could tell. He was fiercely loyal to those he cared about and clearly kind. Derek knew that having him here had to be a burden for the Stilinskis, but both Stiles and the sheriff had been nothing but kind, and Stiles especially seemed to be going out of his way to make sure that Derek was all right.

Under normal circumstances, say if they had met at school or something like that, Derek probably would have asked Stiles out by now. But he couldn't really get a read on the other teen and if he'd even be interested. And he couldn't figure out if Stiles already had a boyfriend or girlfriend. Derek really hadn't had much interaction with the rest of the pack since he got here. Scott had come over a few times, once with his girlfriend, but other than that, Derek hadn't really seen anyone else since his rescue. He didn't exactly mind that. Things were confusing enough as it was without adding more people to mix.

"I think I found something!"

Stiles voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Derek set aside the book he was reading and turned his attention to Stiles. The other teen beamed at him, holding out a thick book to Derek.

"So, there's a ritual mentioned here about restoring innocence to a person. There's not a lot of detail, but at least most of what is mentioned matches up with your situation. I'll have to see if I can dig up a source that has the full details of the ritual, but at least we finally have a place to start."

The smile on his face made butterflies dance in Derek's stomach. He wanted to lean over and kiss Stiles. Instead he just clapped him on the shoulder.

"Sounds good."

He returned to his book with seething thoughts. The main one being if he was returned to normal, did that mean he would lose the closeness he was currently sharing with Stiles? Derek couldn't imagine that he wasn't attracted to Stiles at any point, but it was also pretty clear that he and Stiles hadn't been together before either. He didn't understand why not. Given what he knew, he would think that he would jump at the chance to forge connections. After all, he had already tried to build a new pack once since he lost his family, though admittedly it hadn't really sounded like Stiles had been a part of his pack then.

Which was too bad since from everything that Derek saw, Stiles was pretty much the perfect human pack member. Smart, loyal, and fearless when it came to dealing with the supernatural, Derek had now doubt that Stiles was a major asset to Scott's pack. If there was any sort of solution to Derek's situation, Stiles would find it. The problem was Derek was beginning to wonder if he wanted Stiles to find a solution. His old life didn't sound like anything that he would want to go back to, and Derek rather thought that he could make a new life here, even without the rest of his pack. At least he could if Stiles was willing to help him. Derek was pretty sure he'd been in over his head right now if it weren't for the other teen.

Maybe it would be worth to go ahead and ask Stiles out. While Stiles might be hopeful that they could reverse what had been done to Derek, he probably needed to start thinking about long term plans if that didn't work out. And while Stiles couldn't replace his family, he might be able to be a part of Derek's new family.

* * *

 

Stiles had the sinking feeling that this was not going to be as easy to fix as he had hoped. While the book he found mentioned the ritual, it didn't really have any detail. It had taken another two days for him to track down other records of the ritual, and what he had found hadn't exactly been encouraging. At least to Stiles' reading of the material. He probably needed to check in with Deaton and see what he made of it. Because from what Stiles was seeing, there wasn't a way to completely reverse the ritual. But he could be wrong about that.

He hoped he was wrong about that. Derek was the last person who deserved to have to go through something like this and then be stuck with it. As much as Stiles liked the teenaged Derek, it really wasn't the same as having the real Derek around, though he had to admit that the teenaged version seemed much happier in general than the adult. And Stiles was all for Derek being happy. He deserved that.

Shaking his head, Stiles put away his notes and headed down to the kitchen. Derek had insisted on takin over some of the cooking duties since it was something that he could do to help, and Stiles couldn't complain. As it turned out, Derek was a very good cook. Apparently he'd learned from his dad who had been a professional chef. The smells wafted up from the kitchen were calling to Stiles, and his dad should be home soon anyway.

It was really rather domestic setting the table while Derek cooked dinner. It felt like Derek fit there in the Stilinski kitchen, and Stiles wanted to keep him, either version really. Because Derek seemed content if not actually happy, and that was something Stiles so rarely saw. Of course, Stiles didn't know if puttering around the Stilinski kitchen would make the older Derek happy, but it was worth a try. It had taken exposure to this younger version for Stiles to realize that they had almost never seen Derek anything close to resembling happy before. It was a rather sobering discovery.

"Something smells wonderful."

His dad's arrival pulled Stiles out of his thoughts. Derek grinned.

"Chicken fricassee and a salad. Should be done in about ten minutes."

"Any news on the research front?"

Stiles sighed. "Sort of. I need to talk to Deaton about what I found, but that can wait until tomorrow. How was work?"

His dad shrugged. "Quiet. I'm going to grab a quick shower and change."

Dinner was routine. Or what had become routine for them since Derek had moved in. It was sort of nice. Derek often had answers for questions about the supernatural that his dad had, and he definitely was a better cook than either of the two Stilinskis. Besides, Stiles rather thought that Derek liked being a part of a family unit again. Stiles was a little worried about just how comfortable the three of them had gotten with this though. Sooner or later, Derek would leave, and then they would have to get used to it being just the two of them again. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but both he and his dad were getting more than a little attached to Derek, and it was going to hurt when he left.

The next morning saw Stiles dragging Derek to Deaton's to get his opinion on the information he'd found. He didn't know what he wanted the older man to find. Part of Stiles wanted everything to go back to the way it was, except that all messed up too. Things hadn't exactly been wonderful before Derek had been turned into a teen, but at least then he had been himself. But at the same time, teenage Derek was so much happier in general than adult Derek. And Derek deserved some happiness in his life.

Deaton hemmed and hawed and sighed before finally telling Stiles and Derek what he thought.

"So, the problem I see is according to this, only half of what was taken can be restored. We can either restore Derek to his adult body or we can restore his memories. Not both. And we have a finite time limit to do either. We have until the next full moon or Derek's current state will become permanent."

Derek and Stiles shared a look. That gave them five days to make a decision and perform the reversal.

* * *

 

Derek needed to get away. He couldn't think around Stiles anymore, and right now he really needed to think. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't figure out what to choose: his proper body or his memories. From everything that he had been told, his memories weren't exactly pleasant. Maybe he would be better without them. But what good would an adult body be if he didn't have the knowledge he needed. He was still in high school. Or at least, he remembered being in high school. While he might have gone to college, Derek wouldn't remember it. That wouldn't exactly help if he needed a job.

Maybe he should just skip it in general. Stay a teenager with no memories. Yes, he might wonder at what he'd forgotten at times, but maybe just starting over would be best for everyone. He just didn't know. He had no real frame of reference for this choice and the time crunch was putting more pressure on him than he liked. All Derek really knew that he wanted was Stiles in his life. Stiles seemed to be the one solid thing in his life right now, and Derek would admit he was terrified to lose that. But then again, there was nothing to guarantee that Stiles would remain that.

And it didn't help that ever since they had left Deaton's, Stiles had been hovering. Normally, Derek wouldn't have minded that too much. He liked having Stiles around most of the time. But right now he was a reminder of the decision that Derek needed to make and it was almost too much.

"I'm going for a walk," he announced. "I'll be back for dinner."

Stiles looked concerned. "I can come with you."

Derek shook his head. "No. I need some time alone."

Sties bit his lip and fumbled in his pockets. "Take my phone at least. It's got everyone's numbers in it, and if there's even a hint of trouble, call someone please, even if it isn't me."

He nodded and tucked the phone into his pocket. "I'll be back."

Derek didn't have a particular direction in mind, but he wasn't entirely surprised when his feet took him towards the preserve and his old home. He knew that Stiles had told him it had burned down, but he hadn't at all been prepared for the reality of it. The sight stopped Derek dead in his tracks and made his heart clench. The worst part was the fact that it was recognizable. Maybe if he hadn't been able to see his old home in the dilapidated ruin it wouldn't hurt so much, but there were still things that he could recognize, and it made Derek hurt.

Would it hurt more or less if he had the memories of what had happened here instead of just the knowledge? Derek doesn't know. He bit his lip and just stared at the wreckage of his home. There was nothing here for him to go back to. He could only move forward. But how and where were still questions Derek didn't have the answers to.

He didn't know how long he sat there, staring at what used to be his home. It was only the sound of a car pulling up that brought him out of his thoughts and back to the present. He turned to find a cruiser parked in the drive. The sheriff was getting out.

"I thought I might find you here when Stiles mentioned that you'd gone out. How are you doing, son?"

Derek just sighed. "I don't know. Did he tell you about the spell?"

Sheriff Stilinski nodded. "He did. Not an easy choice."

"I don't know what to choose. Or if I should choose anything at all. Maybe I'm just supposed to stay like this. Completely start over."

The older man didn't offer any advice. He just sat down next to Derek. Derek sighed and buried his face in his hands.

The Sheriff spoke. "No matter what you chose, Derek, there will be a place for you with us. That won't change. We might not have done the best job of making that clear in the past, but you can count on it from now on."

Derek sighed again, but he lifted his head from his hands when Sheriff Stilinski clapped him on the back.

"Stiles promised take out if we came home before dark. What do you say?"

Stiles didn't know what he wanted Derek to choose. He didn't what would make Derek the happiest (which was what he wanted him to choose), but he did know that waiting for Derek to make his decision was driving him more than a little crazy. So when he came home from school to find Derek sitting on his bed with a determined look on his face, he was hoping it was good news.

"Can we go to Deaton's tonight? I want to get this over with."

He didn't say what he had decided. Stiles didn't ask.

"And do you think that your dad could come?" Derek sounded a little more hesitant about that request.

Stiles nodded. "Of course."

The three of them were pretty silent during the drive out to Deaton's. Once inside though, Derek took a deep breath.

"I want my memories back. That means I'm going to stay like this. I'd appreciate it if I could continue staying with you for a little while at least. Once I get my feet under me, I can move out if you like."

Stiles' dad just shook his head. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like, Derek. We'll get things sorted out. We are going to have to come up with a plan to deal with your documentation and other paperwork, but we can figure that out later."

Derek nodded. "All right. Let's get this over with."

* * *

 

The ritual to restore Derek's memories thankfully was quite short, even if it was unpleasant. Or at least, Stiles assumed it was unpleasant by the look on Derek's face when he downed the concoction that Deaton handed him. Whatever it was, it did seem to work quickly for Derek's eyes almost immediately rolled back in his head, and if he hadn't already been sitting, he probably would have collapsed. It was one of the longest twenty minutes that Stiles could remember as they waited for Derek to come around and Deaton just calmly went about tidying up the clinic.

When Derek's eyes finally fluttered open, Stiles knew that it had worked. Nothing else could account the shattered expression in them, and Stiles found himself frozen and uncertain what to do. His dad, however, had no such problems. He pulled Derek out of his seat and into a hug.

"Come on, son. Let's go home. We can get everything else sorted out later."

Derek seemed like he was autopilot, but he followed the Stilinskis out to the car with no comment. It wasn't until they got back to the house that Derek fell apart, and Stiles was at a loss for what to do. Somehow he ended up on the couch with Derek wrapped up in blanket while his dad made hot chocolate. He hoped that his presence is enough to help Derek. He can't imagine what the full weight of all of your memories hitting you at once was like, but given Derek's past, he's not that surprised by this reaction. Even if he had no clue how to deal with it.

It wasn't really until the next morning that what this all meant really hit Stiles. He came downstairs for breakfast to find his dad and Derek discussing things like bank accounts and official identification. Derek might still look like a teenager, but he didn't sound like one. Stiles wasn't quite sure how to handle that. Both men looked up when Stiles entered the room. His dad waved him over to the table.

"Derek made cinnamon rolls. We're discussing his cover story. Come see if we missed anything."

He joined them at the table, snagging one of the cinnamon rolls. "So what have we got?"

Derek and his dad had been pretty through. They had mostly just taken the story they'd already provided to folks in town and expanded it, making the main reason that Derek had started looking for his extended family was that he'd been kicked out when he'd come out as bi to his immediate family. He'd known that his uncle had also been a black sheep in the family and had been hoping for a place to stay. The sheriff wasn't going to spend him back to the people who had kicked him out, so he'd taken the teen in instead.

Derek apparently knew someone who could be trusted to help with the documentation. He had already done most of his banking online, so there weren't any issues with having access to his funds, though they probably would need to set up a new bank account for Derek's new identity. Stiles couldn't see anything major missing. They would need to get Derek enrolled at the high school, but they probably needed to wait on documents for that. All in all, he figured they were set.

"Looks good to me. What's next?"

* * *

 

Derek was struggling to gain balance once again, but at least this time he had an idea of what he had gotten himself into. He wasn't entirely thrilled by the idea of going through high school again, but at least it wouldn't be all four years. And he had to admit that there was something to being about to start again. He wasn't sure that he deserved this second chance, but he wasn't going to waste it. Not this time.

Though explaining this to Cora was going to be an interesting conversation. He had no idea how she was going to react other than she would probably be sarcastic about it. Other than that, he had no idea. But that was the least of his concerns right now. He needed to arrange for a fake transcript so he could finish high school here in Beacon Hills and start looking into universities. At least he wouldn't be completely redoing university. He'd never had a chance to finish his degree.

He was also struggling with his memories now that he had them back. The time without them had somehow made them all fresh again. Or at least fresher. Derek wasn't as paralyzed by them as he once had been, but most of the distance of the years had disappeared.

But he might have a better support system this time around. Laura had done her best, but she had been just as lost as he was after the fire if not more so, and Derek knew that the two of them had never really been stable as people or a pack, despite Laura's best efforts. Sheriff Stilinski, on the other hand, was an established member of the community and knew something about dealing with traumatized people. And Derek figured that both he and Stiles could use that sort of help right now.

Derek would admit that he had been using both of the Stilinskis as something of an anchor throughout all of this. Despite the fact that Stiles was clearly recovering from his own trauma and the sheriff felt out of his comfort zone, they had been something solid that Derek could lean on for support, and that didn't seem to have change now that he had his memories back. Well, except for the fact that Derek was much more grateful for that support.

And he wanted to make a go of this. This was a second chance that he had never expected to be offered to have a family again. Derek knew that he had been pretty much adopted by the Stilinskis at this point, and he wouldn't ever take that for granted. Especially not when he was pretty certain he was falling for Stiles. Not that that was exactly news to Derek. It was something that he had been aware of and fighting for a while.

He hadn't wanted the vulnerability that came with caring for someone, especially someone who was completely human and had no defense against the supernatural. But Stiles had proved time and time again that he was going to be involved, and while he might get hurt at times, there was no one Derek would rather have in his pack and at his side. Nearly loosing Stiles to the nogitsune probably had something to do his willingness to take that risk. He could have lived with pushing Stiles away as long as Stiles went on to have a reasonably happy life. Stiles being dead or trapped in his own mind was not something Derek could have lived with.

Not that he was going to try and start any sort of romantic relationship with Stiles just yet. Not with both of them still rather shaken from everything that had happened in the latest round of insanity. Neither of them where in any headspace to be starting something. If one good thing had come out of his brief and disastrous run of relationships, it was that he knew how not to start one. Maybe once they had both gotten used to the most recent changes Derek could start thinking about asking Stiles on a date.

One of the things that did seem to keep Derek on an even keel was to continue cooking for the Stilinskis. It had been years since Derek had really cooked, and he was finding it more relaxing than he remember, and it didn't hurt that both the sheriff and Stiles seemed appreciative of his efforts in the kitchen. Living with the Stilinskis wasn't like living with his family, but it did have at least one thing in common with being in the Hale household. Derek felt like he was a part of something here more than with anyone else in Beacon Hills. Even when he'd had his own pack, it had been missing the sense that they really belonged together, despite Derek's efforts.

There was also Scott's pack and Derek's place in Beacon Hills to deal with as well. Derek had never actually joined Scott's pack, and he was still unsure if he would. But that didn't mean he wouldn't be their ally. Derek just wasn't sure that there really was a place for him in Scott's pack or if he would always be on the fringes, and he couldn't deal with that. But the Stilinskis were enough to anchor him and keep him from becoming an omega or losing control.

With a sign, Derek turned his attention back to the food cooking on the stove. He was expecting the sheriff home soon and Stiles would be back from Scott's within a half hour. By the time that the door opened, Derek was almost done with dinner.

"Derek?" John called.

"In the kitchen. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes."

"Stiles home yet?" the man asked as he wandered into the room. "Something smells good."

"Chicken fricassee. Anything new today?"

"You're now enrolled at Beacon Hills High School."

Derek made a face, and the sheriff laughed.

"I know. I wouldn't want to repeat high school either. But it's the best option we have."

Stiles came through the door at that moment, saving Derek from having to come up with some sort of reply to that.

"Is that dinner I'm smelling? What did you cook this time, Der?"

Derek smiled. "Chicken fricassee. You can set the table."

Within twenty minutes, the three of them were seated around the table eating together. It felt, despite the fact that Kate was still at large and they knew there was something more going on here even if they didn't what, quite peaceful and homey. And Derek had no doubt that while there would be plenty more chaos and danger in the future, there would also be nights like this. And that was definitely worth the rest of the headaches that came with this new beginning.


	2. Epilogue

_Five Years Later_

Stiles dumped his duffle bag in the entryway. "I'm home."

His boyfriend's voice drifted out of the kitchen. "Your dad just ran to the store. He should be back in fifteen."

He followed the sound of Derek's voice back to the kitchen to find the werewolf bent over the stove stirring some sort of concoction. Whatever it was, it smelled amazing. Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek's waist and leaned into him, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

"Dad's got you cooking already?"

Derek chuckled. "It was either that or leftovers. How was your flight?"

"Way too long. I wish our finals had matched up this year and we could have flown home together."

His boyfriend turned around and pulled Stiles into a proper hug. It had been nearly a month since they had seen one another in person. Luckily, their spring breaks had aligned this year. Despite their colleges only being about a three hour drive away from one another, both Derek and Stiles had found that getting together during the term was much harder than they thought, especially this year.

Derek pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Just one more term now."

"I know."

By the end of spring, they both would be graduating with their bachelor's degrees. They had planned a trip across Europe for the summer, visiting a number of libraries and museums as well as the regular tourist spots. Then it would be back to Beacon Hills once again, at least for a little while. Stiles would be job hunting, though Derek had a job at the sheriff's department if he wanted. But neither of them had to think about that right now. No, they had entire week, barring supernatural shenanigans, to themselves at home before they had to go back to their senior year.

The front door opened again, and the two young men smiled at one another.

"Stiles? You home?"

"In the kitchen, Dad!"

It hadn't been easy, and it had taken years for them to get here, but Stiles didn't think that anyone could claim he and Derek had taken full advantage of Derek's second chance.


End file.
